This invention relates to products used for harvesting of grains. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved grain saver dam mounted on a cutter bar by a bracket which utilizes an improved bushing system for enhancing the performance and durability of the grain saver dam.
Combines are well known in the art. In harvesting cereal grains, rigid cutter bars are often utilized. However, in low-growing crops, such as soybeans, it is advantageous to use a flexible or floating cutter bar assembly, to mow the crops as close to the ground as possible, especially in areas in which the land is uneven. Floating, flexible cutter bars are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,859, U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,400; U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,610; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,803.
While floating, flexible cutter bars increase the crop yield by cutting the stems closer to the ground, and are especially useful for harvesting of soybeans, some crop is still lost during harvesting.
The moisture content of the crop being harvested also affects loss of crop due to shatter. For example, in harvesting soybeans having a moisture content of about 13%, there is a loss of about two bushels of beans per acre. However, if the moisture content decreases to about 11%, the loss of beans increases to about four bushels per acre. Further, if the moisture content of the plant decrease to 9% or less, the loss per acre due to shatter increases drastically. This loss has been recognized in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,465 discloses a vacuum operated secondary harvesting device, designed to pick up beans or grain knocked to the ground, under the primary harvester. However, the device of this patent also picks up rock and dirt.
With floating cutter bars, rocks and dirt tend to be enter the harvesting apparatus during operation and cause damage to the intricate mechanism, resulting in significant downtime and repair. To prevent this damage, U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,338 disclosed a pair of rock deflectors, attached to opposite frame elements, which include a plurality of fore and aft fingers which are sufficiently wide to allow passage of the crop, but which also deflect larger rocks and foreign objects from entering into the combine mechanism. The patent also discloses a device designed to prevent damage to the cutting apparatus by preventing introduction of such objects into the combine mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,932 discloses a grain saver dam, for example, in FIG. 1. This grain saver dam moves up and down as the back bar (5) runs across the surface of the field. The grain saver dam is held in place by a series of bracket clips (32 and 33). These bracket clips are secured in place by a bolt (22) which passes through the bracket (33) and the cutter bar (4). While this grain saver dam (28) is efficient in preventing both rock and dirt from entering the combine and in saving grain, a problem has been discovered as a result of the method of securing the grain saver dam sections to the cutter bar (4). Many of these grain saver dams are utilized by individual farmers. They tend to tighten the bolts holding the grain saver dam sections against the bracket clips too tightly, thus, reducing the flexibility of the individual grain saver dam sections, which are secured to the flexible cutter bar.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to disclose an improved design for a grain saver dam mounted to a flexible cutter bar which allows the individual grain saver dam to flex as the cutter bar flexes.
It is another object of this invention to provide larger and additional wear point on the grain saver dam adding longevity to the product.
It is another object to disclose an improved design for the grain saver dam.
These and other objects are obtained by the design of the present invention.